Robert Fisk in London

Sarah Meyer

October 12, 2005

Index Research By Sarah Meyer

On 11 October, the reporter Robert Fisk made one of his rare appearances in London. The bookshop, Bookmarks
arranged for Mr Fisk to speak to an audience of about 250 in a church
hall close to Tottenham Court Road. The event marked the publication of
Mr. Fisk’s new book, The Great War of Civilisation, the Conquest of the Middle East, published by Fourth Estate, London.

Robert
Fisk is an outstanding journalist. His clarity, courage and in-depth
knowledge have, throughout his lifetime, been the bedrock of his
principled reporting.

Like Seymour Hersch, Mr. Fisk appears to be a quiet, unassuming middle aged man. Perhaps this is an advantage for a man who is so very passionate about truth.

Fisk
likes reporting because, he said, it "is an opportunity to be the first
writer of history, to write the truth… our job is to monitor the centre
of power; …to monitor authority, always."

Fisk spoke of his
father, who was a bully, a "very right wing man who liked policemen and
capital punishment." But during WWI, his father refused to execute a
man (p. 365ff).

"I have spent my whole life on borders drawn
after WWI… All the countries created then are artificial. They don’t
work. We are very happy to help. We send them weapons… there is a
constant stream of pain, injustice and slaughter."

Of
governments, he said that "you only accept intelligence if it fits in
with what you believe." Fisk believes the US is fighting an
"ideological war."

Of reporting, Fisk said "AP is behind two
walls and the NY Times behind a stockade." He added, "I used to think
it was a privilege to be there. Now I wonder if the privilege wasn’t a
curse." He later said, "In American journalism if you criticize, you
are un-american."

"I was on Highway 8 investigating a murder.
I saw the largest military brigade I had ever seen. It was a 4 1/2 hour
convoy. The ground was bouncing up and down. Iraq is not just about
oil. There is a visceral need of the superpower to project its power. I
was watching the American empire."

"Most of Iraq is out of
control," Fisk said. "I have never seen a country so out of control…
the Americans must leave and the Americans can’t leave. In due course,
there must be negotiation."

Talking about the deaths of Iraqi civilians, Fisk mused, "I don’t think we CARE about the Iraqis." The doctors in the hospitals are not ALLOWED to say how many have died," nor to talk about the "violent deaths in one day."

What
was the best word for those who are struggling against the occupation?
"I won’t use the word 'terrorist’… 'insurgents’ is the best you can get
." Why were there insurgents? Fisk said, "if you shake and shake and
shake, they will hit you; I don’t think there was an original wish to
harm us." I suggest that if you want to read about violence, especially
ethnic cleansing, you go to the Holy Scriptures."

And what was the goal post for the insurgents? The "insurgents primary struggle is to be able to say who will be in power after
the Americans leave." He added, "there will never be a civil war. It’s
trivial… I have not met an Iraqi who used the term 'civil war.’ "

With
reference to the reports about Iranians entering the Iraqi border,
presently being hyped by the British government, Fisk wryly said, "the
Iranians coming over the border is a total myth."

The audience applauded this fine, fiercely dedicated man, this great reporter.

Robert
Fisk is also the author of The Point of No Return: The Strike which
Broke the British in Ulster; In Time of War: Ireland, Ulster and the
Price of Neutrality 1939 – 45; Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War.

Sarah Meyer is a researcher. She lives in Sussex, UK.You may email her at: sarahmeyer@freedom255.com

Uruknet receives daily many hacking attempts. To prevent this, we have 10 websites on 6 servers in different places.
So, if the website is slow or it does not answer, you can recall one of the other web sites: www.uruknet.info www.uruknet.de www.uruknet.biz www.uruknet.org.uk www.uruknet.com www.uruknet.org - www.uruknet.it www.uruknet.eu www.uruknet.net www.uruknet.web.at.it

:: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.
We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
For more info go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own
that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
:: We always mention the author and link the original site and page of every article.